All posts tagged: Ursula von der Leyen

‘A deal is a deal’: Von der Leyen fires back at Trump over auto tariff threat

‘A deal is a deal’: Von der Leyen fires back at Trump over auto tariff threat

Published by Sam Flores

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday rebuffed U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to hike tariffs on European cars, warning Washington to stick to the terms of its trade deal with Brussels. Speaking out for the first time since Trump’s Friday announcement that he would impose 25 percent tariffs on EU-made automobiles, von der Leyen flatly stated that “a deal is a deal.” “We have a deal, and the essence of this deal is prosperity, common rules and reliability,” she said during a press conference at the EU-Armenia summit in Yerevan. While the EU is in the “final stages of implementing the remaining tariff commitments,” the Commission president added, “the U.S. has the commitment … where alignment with the agreed ceiling is still outstanding.” She also stressed the bloc is “prepared for every scenario.” During the same press conference, European Council President António Costa said EU leaders “fully support” the Commission’s response to Trump’s latest trade threat. French President Emmanuel Macron made that backing explicit at a separate press conference in Yerevan with …

The Parliament’s misspent €1.5 million – POLITICO

The Parliament’s misspent €1.5 million – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

European political parties are misspending their cash, while the public is left in the dark about what’s going on. The European Parliament’s department of finance found political parties and foundations had misspent €1.5 million during the 2024 EU election campaign. Zoya and Ian discuss which parties are the biggest offenders. They also explain how the European Parliament — with the help of complex bureaucratic processes — helps these parties avoid broader scrutiny. Also on the pod, EU finance ministers are meeting today to discuss getting financial support for Ukraine from countries outside the bloc. While we’re on the topic of geopolitics, Zoya and Ian have some breaking news about a major personnel change at the EU’s foreign policy arm, the European External Action Service. Finally, a Spanish MEP was outraged when an inauthentic Galician octopus dish was served at the Parliament’s canteen. We take a look at some other institutional food fights. Do you have insider info on any big job moves happening in Brussels — or elsewhere? We’d love to hear them! Send a message to our WhatsApp here or at +32 491 05 06 29. Source link

UK seeks access to EU’s €5B tech scale-up fund – POLITICO

UK seeks access to EU’s €5B tech scale-up fund – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The EU created the European Innovation Council Fund in 2020 to take equity stakes in startups, with the Scaleup Europe Fund to follow before the summer, aiming to plug a funding gap that many European companies face. That €5 billion fund is expected to make much larger investments than the earlier one, from which investments were capped at €30 million. The Commission is still in the process of setting up the new program, with the selection of a fund manager still pending. Up until now, the U.K. has had no access to the funds, which are part of the EU’s flagship research and development program, Horizon Europe, despite Britain’s association with it since 2024. “[The U.K.] has opted out of the part of Horizon Europe which supports equity investments in startup and scale-up companies,” European Commission spokesperson Maciej Berestecki told POLITICO in mid-April. He added that the Commission was “open to the U.K. becoming fully associated” and was “ready to advance discussion on this matter.” Source link

EU accused of wasting €20B on AI computing dreams – POLITICO

EU accused of wasting €20B on AI computing dreams – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The aim is to build four to five mega facilities, each powered by 100,000 graphics processing units (GPUs), a type of chip used to train AI models. They would be four times the size of the AI Factories and rival some of the world’s leading projects, such as OpenAI’s Stargate data center in Norway.  The projects will be funded by combining public and private investment, and the EU has set up a €20 billion fund to back the plans from its side. A total of 76 bids to establish 60 sites across 16 countries were filed during an informal sense-check by the Commission last year, with established companies such as French Scaleway among them. “This demonstrates an emerging substantial market demand,” the Commission’s Regnier said. As an early pledge, the Commission in 2024 announced plans to build 19 AI-focused supercomputers across 16 countries. | Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images Efforts are ongoing to merge and finalize some of those bids and to iron out the practical details between EU countries that support the bids and the vehicle …

The EU-Mercosur deal takes effect — but the fight over it goes on – POLITICO

The EU-Mercosur deal takes effect — but the fight over it goes on – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

What’s changing? The agreement will gradually eliminate duties on more than 90 percent of EU exports, including on cars, pharmaceuticals, wine and spirits, and olive oil. Some so-called non-tariff barriers — such as on labeling — will be removed. Public procurement markets will open up, allowing EU companies to bid for government contracts. The Commission estimates that EU exports to the Mercosur region will grow by 39 percent through 2040, to €50 billion. “The benefits are real and visible as of now,” von der Leyen said in a post on X. “Tariffs start falling. Companies are gaining access to new markets. Investors have the predictability they need.” But gains will be slower to materialize on some products. “In most cases, the tariff reductions will be phased in over a period of 10 to 15 years. The economic effects will therefore become apparent primarily in the medium to long term,” said Oliver Richtberg, head of foreign trade at Germany’s VDMA engineering federation. If either the Court of Justice or lawmakers ultimately reject the agreement, the European Commission …

Belgium eyes nuclear takeover to keep reactors running  – POLITICO

Belgium eyes nuclear takeover to keep reactors running  – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

It comes as the EU doubles down on electrification, renewables and nuclear to reduce dependence on volatile fossil fuel imports, amid rising energy prices caused by the war in Iran. “We must reduce our overdependency on imported fossil fuels and boost our homegrown, affordable, clean energy supply. From renewables to nuclear, in full respect of technology neutrality,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday. Belgium had reversed course on nuclear last year, when its parliament scrapped a planned phase-out.  The move will contribute to the government’s goal of securing around 4 gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2040, said Sylvain Cognet-Dauphin, a senior analyst at the S&P Global consultancy. “There are two ways to get to that target: build new nuclear, which takes time, or restart and extend existing units,” Cognet-Dauphin said. “There won’t be a significant lifetime extension or new build without significant government involvement.” Extending the lifetime of aging reactors and restarting recently closed ones entails significant investment and risk. “If you’re a private operator, investing in nuclear assets is billions, even …

EU says Meta needs to do more to keep under-13s off Instagram and Facebook – POLITICO

EU says Meta needs to do more to keep under-13s off Instagram and Facebook – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Should the platforms be found guilty of breaching the EU’s Digital Services Act, they risk fines of up to 6 percent of their annual global revenue. Meta can now respond to the findings and offer remedies to avoid a fine. Meta spokesperson Toby Partlett said the company invested “in technologies to find and remove underage users and will have more to share next week about additional measures rolling out soon … Understanding age is an industry-wide challenge, which requires an industry-wide solution.” The Commission said the measures Meta has put in place on Instagram and Facebook do not stop kids under 13 from accessing the platform. Citing “large bodies of evidence” that 10-12 percent of kids under 13 are on at least one of the two platforms, it said Meta needs to strengthen those measures, change its risk assessment and do more overall to cut risks to kids. The Commission is working on its own app that platforms can use to verify the age of users, which it will on Wednesday tell EU countries to …

Hungary’s Magyar meets von der Leyen to game-plan unlocking frozen EU funds – POLITICO

Hungary’s Magyar meets von der Leyen to game-plan unlocking frozen EU funds – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Magyar’s team has also been working with some of his predecessor’s ministers and civil servants to advance the technical work required to make the reforms, three other officials with knowledge of the proceedings said. András Kármán, Magyar’s nominee for finance minister, István Kapitány, tapped for economy minister, and Anita Orbán, the incoming foreign minister, met a high-level Commission delegation, including von der Leyen’s Cabinet chief Bjoern Seibert, on Saturday and prepared the ground for the Magyar-von der Leyen meeting. Before that, the teams met in Budapest on April 18 and 19. The first step to unlocking Hungary’s recovery money is complying with 27 EU-mandated “super milestones,” covering procurement, judicial independence and academic freedom. Because Tisza has won more than two-thirds of the seats in parliament, Magyar is expected to be able to get those changes approved quickly. European People’s Party leader Manfred Weber with Ursula Von der Leyen in Brussels in January 2025. Weber said the European Parliament should halt Article 7 proceedings against Hungary. | Frederick Florin/AFP via Getty Images The harder part is …

Merz lashes out at Trump and Brussels as Germany’s economy falters – POLITICO

Merz lashes out at Trump and Brussels as Germany’s economy falters – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Merz’s attacks on Brussels are part of a bid to placate German industry leaders, who blame excessive EU regulation for a loss of competitiveness. Four in five German firms complain that bureaucracy has increased over the past three years, according to a survey of 1,000 companies by the German Economic Institute. More than 90 percent want EU rules scaled back. “Only as a strong economic hub can we be a strong international player,” Stefan Berger, a German conservative MEP focused on the economy, told POLITICO. “In this situation, it makes sense to look to Brussels, scrutinize some existing regulations and cut through unnecessary red tape so that European companies can focus more on production and less on paperwork.” Merz’s attempts to pin the blame abroad have a great deal to do with his limited domestic options and sinking popularity. The chancellor this week, for the first time, fell to last place in polling firm INSA’s popularity ranking of Germany’s 20 most prominent politicians. Meanwhile, only 15 percent of Germans said they are satisfied with Merz’s …